


Bed and Breakfast

by Soupe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: (mostly tipsy), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben has anxiety and just wants to sleep, Bonding, Breakfast, Drunken Flirting, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Hair Braiding, Hangover, I Was Drunk When I Wrote This, I was sober when I edited and wrote the end, One Shot, Pining, Rey is a friendly drunk, Sharing a Bed, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26455786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soupe/pseuds/Soupe
Summary: Rey gets drunk at a party and stumbles into a sleeping Ben's room by accident. Drunken compliments, hair braiding, and cuddling ensues.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 187





	Bed and Breakfast

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a drabble while a little drunk in March. I then didn't look at it for months, thinking it wasn't worth posting. I reread it yesterday and was like "oh, no I like this" so I edited it, added a part 2, and here we are.
> 
> It's just very soft.

Rey didn’t know where she was.

Well, she knew she was in Poe’s apartment. But what room this was, was a mystery to her. It was dark, she couldn’t find the door—and yes, admittedly, she was drunk. But it was a party, she was allowed to have fun. Though some might say she was having too much fun.

In all fairness, she was under a lot of stress. Her fourth year of university was a lot to handle. The end of term was coming up and with it all of her assignment deadlines and final exams were quickly approaching. As an engineering major with an overloaded schedule and a part-time job at the campus bookstore, there was a lot on her plate.

She could hear the sounds of music and laughter coming from the living room down the hall. She stumbled through the dark room, looking around in confusion. She didn’t think she’d ever been in this room before. The darkness didn’t help her orient herself either.

Running her hand against the wall, she felt for the light switch to no avail. Instead, she ended up tripping over something in the dark.

“Shit,” she swore, giggling at the topsy-turvy feeling of stumbling on the carpeted floor.

“Hello?” she heard a voice call out in the dark.

“Hi?” she said confused, but happy to have company.

Suddenly a light came on in the room, it was warm and lit only the corner of the room. A bedside lamp.

She was in a bedroom. Slowly, Rey realized whose room she was in.  
  


Ben Solo’s.  
  


She’d somehow forgotten about Poe’s roommate. So used to thinking of Poe in conjunction with his boyfriend Finn, she often forgot about his roommate Ben. His very tall, broad-shouldered, handsome roommate—awkward as he may have been. He only occasionally joined her friends in the odd party or night out. Obviously, this was not one of those nights. But there he was, sitting up in bed with earbuds hanging in his ears, hair tousled from sleep, squinting at her in the light.

He was also shirtless.

“Oh, hi!” she said, falling into the enthusiasm of Drunk Rey. Drunk Rey was too happy, everything was funny, she had no worries. She liked being Drunk Rey in the moment, but often regretted it the morning after.

“What are you doing?” he asked, annoyance clear in his tone. Who could blame him, being suddenly awoken from sleep. Rey hardly noticed, more than a little distracted.

“Uh…” she thought for a moment, still staring at his bare chest. What was she doing again? Where was she trying to go? “I don’t know,” she said with a giggle.

Walking over to the bed she sat down without another thought.

“What are you doing?” she asked in return, easygoing grin still on her face.

The annoyed look didn’t leave his face as he sighed.

“I _was_ sleeping.” He ran his hands through his long, dark hair. Rey was entranced by the sight of it. His large hands.

“You have really nice hair,” she said very seriously. Reaching her hands out, she touched the locks in front of his ears, brushing them away from his face. His own hands stopped as she ran her hands through his dark tresses. He simply stared at her. Rey couldn’t discern his expression, but he seemed unbothered with what she was doing so she simply continued.

“So soft,” she mumbled to herself. “Do you mind if I braid it?” she asked, eyes widening in excitement as her hands suddenly stilled.

He continued to stare, almost blankly before nodding once, slowly. Hesitantly, even.

Rey smiled easily, pleased by the simple pleasure of playing with a cute boy’s hair.

She combed through his hair carefully and his eyes slowly closed. Ben didn’t want to encourage this, but it was hard not to enjoy.

“Scoot down,” she suddenly demanded. His eyes opened at her sudden command.

“What?”

“I need to be behind you to braid it properly,” she said, very seriously.

He shifted down the bed, allowing Rey to sit up behind him. He was lounged out in front of her, his back against her chest. He tried not to press his weight into her, but the feeling of her fingers against his scalp was pulling him into her unconsciously.

“You’re so large,” she giggled.

“Uh, thanks,” he said uncertainly. He was a little self-conscious about his size, both how tall and broad he was. He worked hard at the gym, mostly as a means of managing his anxiety than for the sake of getting ripped. He found his physique often intimidated people despite his quiet personality.

“You’re welcome,” she responded easily, throwing her arms around his shoulders, pressing her cheek against his. Her breath smelled like cheap bear and gin.

“So, what were you listening to?” she asked, resuming her braiding.

“Uh, nothing,” he responded quickly, pulling the last earbud out and moving his phone to the bedside table.

“Are you embarrassed?” she asked tactlessly with a teasing sing-song voice.

He huffed, the annoyance returning. His cheeks turned red. And his ears.

Rey dropped the braid she was working on and turned her attention to Ben’s ears. These adorably large ears. She gently ran her fingers along the top arch of one. Ben froze, his body stiffening in front of her.

“Please don’t,” he said, embarrassment in his tone as he leaned his head away from her touch.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, “They’re just really cute.” She moved her hands to the nape of his neck to continue playing with his hair.

“They’re really not.”

“Benjamin whatever-your-middle-name-is Solo. Don’t you dare talk negatively about yourself! These ears frame your lovely face and line up to your sharp jaw and balance your nose. You are so handsome and large and good and deserve good things.” Rey fell into the drunk white girl pep talk leaving Ben at a loss. He’d never been subject to such insistent compliments.

“You are handsome. Say it.”

“Rey,” he said with reproach. How much more embarrassing could this be? His roommate’s best friend was drunkenly trying to uplift his self-esteem. He had a hot girl in his bed and she was trying to convince him he was handsome while braiding his hair.

“Say it,” she whined, prodding him in the shoulders.

Ben sighed. “I’m handsome,” he said begrudgingly.

“Good,” she nodded satisfied, stroking her hands back through Ben’s smooth, dark tresses, pulling out the braids she’d just plaited.

Ben’s eyes slipped closed at the feeling as he felt himself relax into Rey. He found it hard to sleep most nights, anxiety not allowing for a good night’s rest. That’s why he’d been listening to a sleep sounds app, trying to use the pre-programmed rain sounds to lull him to sleep.

Rey observed this with drunken delight. “Are you asleep?” she tried to whisper.

“Mhmm,” he murmured. His shoulders were relaxed, his head resting against neck.

“Okay,” she barely whispered again. Drunk Rey was not the best at reading the appropriateness of social situations, so she continued to sit in Ben’s bed and play with his hair. Leaning back against the pile of pillows propped against the headboard, she felt her own eyes slip closed. Blearily, she turned to the lamp on his bedside table and blindly reached out to turn it off.

Cast in the dark, she moved out from behind Ben’s heavy body to stretch out along his large bed. He barely moved, fully asleep now. She pulled the nearest blanket across both of them, tucking it around her side, before resting her arms around his shoulders once more.

“Goodnight,” she murmured, too comfortable to move, too drunk to care that she invited herself into Ben’s bed.

Waking up the next morning was painful. Not only because of the incredible hangover Rey was facing, but also because her right arm was fully asleep.

Cracking her eyes open, she was met with Ben’s sleeping face inches from hers, his breath fanning in front of her, mouth pouting adorably. His heavy head resting on her arm.

Despite how much she had to drink, she remembered everything from last night. She braided Ben’s hair. She offered him self-worth advice. She fell asleep with him in his bed. “Whoops,” she whispered.

Ben’s eyes opened. His gaze was soft, and a smile graced his sleepy face. Suddenly, awareness seemed to come over him and his eyes widened, and the smile slowly fell.

“Uh, hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

They both stared at each other in silence, neither one moving.

“I’m sorry—“

“I didn’t mean to—"

Rey smiled slightly. “You have no reason to apologize. I got drunk and let myself into your bed,” she said with some embarrassment.

“It’s fine. I… I didn’t mind,” he admitted, looking away. They fell into silence once more.

“Well,” Rey cleared her throat. “I should probably go. I could really use some Advil and a coffee right now,” she laughed, trying to ease the strange tension.

“Do you…” Ben pushed his hands through his hair as he sat up. Rey tried not stare. “Do you want to get breakfast, maybe? I know a spot, great hangover cure.”

He seemed nervous, which somehow put Rey more at ease. “Okay,” she agreed, “but I’m buying.”

Ben gave her another soft smile.  
  


Poe and Finn were passed out cold and certainly not emerging from Poe’s room anytime soon, so it was just the two of them. He loaned her a clean shirt to wear and offered her the bathroom first, for which she was grateful. She certainly needed it more than him after the night she had. Her make-up was smudged around her eyes, but not as awful as she was expecting. Her brows survived fine, at least.

After a quick, but thorough shower, Rey pulled her leggings back on. Ben’s shirt was alarmingly large on her frame, so she tied it up around her waist. It was some kind of band tee as far as she could tell, with an alternative rock logo emblazoned on the front. It smelt like Ben’s pillow and it sent an odd thrill through her.

He gave her an odd look when she emerged from the bathroom to let him shower, but she tried not to read into it.  
  


The breakfast spot was a local brunch place built in a renovated 1940s bungalow style house, full to the brim with repurposed furniture, shelves of kitschy knickknacks and vintage decor, and mismatched dishes and cutlery.

Rey loved it. The vibrant colours, the smell of coffee, and the promise of a greasy breakfast was enough to uplift her mood and aid her hangover recovery.

Ben led her to a Formica table by a small window, complete with a small vase of yellow flowers. She immediately ordered a coffee with a grateful smile. Ben followed suit, ordering a mocha.

“I’d assumed you took your coffee black.”

“No, I have a bit of a sweet tooth actually.” He smiled to himself and Rey wasn’t sure what it meant.

She looked at their vibrant surroundings once more. “I have to admit, this isn’t a place I’d expect you to frequent.”

She imagined him in a small, dark café that only served pretentious overpriced coffee and buttery artisan croissants. Perhaps, there was a lot more to Ben Solo than meets the eye.

“I’ve only been here a couple times because it’s close to my apartment. I mostly suggested it because I thought you would like it.” He seemed embarrassed again, busying himself with his coffee.

“I do like it.”

He looked up at that, a smile fighting its way onto his face. “Good.”  
  


Rey ordered a full “hungry-person” breakfast: two eggs sunny side up, bacon, home fries, toast, and two pancakes topped with butter and syrup. Ben’s order was at odds with itself: a plate of sourdough French toast, topped with icing sugar, maple syrup, and mixed berries with an egg white omelet on the side, clearly indulging his sweet tooth while still trying to be health conscious.

Rey found it strangely endearing.

They tucked into their meals, lapsing into a comfortable silence as they enjoyed the rich food. Rey tried not to notice Ben’s ears poking out from behind his hair, recalling how enamored she had been by them the night before.

“Have you seen any of these movies?” she asked suddenly, pointing to the framed posters on the wall beside them, trying to distract herself.

They were vintage prints of some old Hollywood classics. She didn’t recognize all of the titles, but names like Gene Kelly, James Cagney, and Ginger Rogers stood out to her.

“A few, yeah. My mom is a big classic Hollywood fan. Though not so much the musicals,” he added pointing at _An American in Paris_ , “more the Noirs. Y’know, Bogie and Bacal and all that.”

“I never know where to start with old Hollywood. I’ll catch the odd movie on TCM, but it’s pretty hit or miss for me.”

They found themselves drawn to similar movies, yet with opposing views. They somehow ended up on Keanu Reeves’ filmography, focusing mostly on his action roles—at which point Rey learned Ben dressed as a different Keanu character for four consecutive Halloweens.

“Which characters?”

“John Wick, Neo, Constantine.”

“That’s only three.”

He sighed. “And Ted.”

“From _Bill and Ted_?” she asked with unrepressed glee. The idea of Ben as an early 90s dumb California kid version of himself was so absurd she couldn’t help but laugh.

He nodded, amused despite himself.

“Please tell me there are photos.”

“Not that you’ll ever see,” he laughed, shaking his head.

They somehow went from Keanu Reeves to Hong Kong action cinema to 80s cult classics before delving into the films of the Coen Brothers. Which led to a heated exchange on the second-best Coen Brothers movie (they both agreed that _Fargo_ was in the number one spot).

“You cannot possibly think _O Brother Where Art Thou_ is better than _Miller’s Crossing_ ,” his said in disbelief.

“ _Miller’s Crossing_ is so uneven. It’s the _Barry Lyndon_ on the bunch.”

“You don’t like _Barry Lyndon_ either?” His voice rose in exasperation.

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it. What is it with film bros and Kubrick?” she asked rhetorically. “ _O Brother_ at least has some life in it.”

“Fine, can we at least agree that _The Man Who Wasn’t There_ is the worst one?”

“I don’t know, did you see _The Ballad of Buster Scruggs_?”  
  


Conversation was alarmingly comfortable given how little they had really interacted prior to last night. She rarely spent much time with Ben, certainly not one-on-one like this. Rey would say she knew Ben, but in the way one knows any mutual friend they see somewhat regularly. They’d been through the get to know you small talk: what program they were in, where they’re from, jobs, career plans—the basic facts. But she found she wanted to know more. Given how sporadically he hung out with her group, Rey didn’t often have an opportunity to do so.

“We should do this again sometime,” she decided as they settled the bill at the front counter of the restaurant.

Ben blinked, then a smirk spread across his face. “Which part? Getting drunk, climbing into my bed, braiding my hair, complimenting my ears?" Rey forcibly tried not to blush and failed. "Or did you mean getting breakfast and arguing about movies?” he teased.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he finished. “I meant we should hang out again. If you want.”

“I want,” he nodded, serious now. That soft smile she glimpsed this morning was spread across his face, dimples and laugh-lines pronounced.

“Good.” She couldn’t help but smile in response. “Actually, speaking of film, there’s a screening of _Fargo_ happening next weekend at Vic park. If you want to go. We could make a picnic of it or something.”

“Sure. But it’s my treat this time.”

“It’s a free event, Ben.”

“Then leave the snacks to me,” he insisted.

He walked with her to her apartment then. She didn’t live far from Ben and Poe, bussing certainly would have been faster, but she didn’t mind the walk. Or prolonging her time with Ben.

“You weren’t kidding about that breakfast being a real hangover cure.” She was still feeling tired, but her stomach was settled and her headache abating. The company didn’t hurt either.

“Carbs have never failed me before.”  
  


He walked with her right up to her apartment door, which she took as a good sign. Pulling her keys out of her bag, she fiddled with them in her hands for a moment, not wanting to leave just yet.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you next week then,” she said glancing up at him.

“Yeah, see you then,” he seemed to be debating something, but simply smiled and turned to walk away.

Rey turned back to her door and unlocked it.

“Rey?”

She turned and found Ben much closer than expected. She stared at his mouth for a moment before meeting his eyes.

He leaned down to her level and she was met with his dark gaze, brown eyes smouldering. He whispered, “Next time you climb into bed with me, I don’t want you to be drunk.”

Rey gaped at him.

He smiled slowly, before he winked, turned, and walked down the hall.

This confident Ben was a new development. Rey couldn’t say she minded.  
  


And she certainly couldn’t wait for that promised next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Is my film studies showing?
> 
> Update: At least one more chapter coming soon 😊


End file.
